In September 1911, while Red Sox owner John Taylor was building a new stadium in "The Fens", the team caught the eye of Jim McAleer and Robert McRoy. Taylor sold the Sox to these eager buyers for a handsome profit even before Fenway Park was completed a year later.
The new steel and concrete stadium with its red brick façade opened on April 20, 1912, boasting 27,000 seats, but only on one level-bleachers partially covering left, right and center fields.
In 1919, Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees, beginning "The Curse of the Bambino." Besides the failure to advance to the World Series which would stretch to 86 years, left field's wooden bleachers burnt down. But Thomas Yawkey bought the team in 1933 and made extensive renovations to the stadium. Concrete stands replaced many wooden seats, the grandstand was enlarged, and the seating capacity increased to 33,817. A new 37-foot wall in left field served as a giant billboard, with a manually operated scoreboard at its bottom. Most of it burned down in January 1934, but the park reopened that April.
THE GREEN MONSTER
The Green Monster dates from 1947. The ads were torn off the left field wall, and it was painted the famous moss green we see today. Fenway also had its first night game that year. In 1975, along with the installation of a video/scoreboard behind the centerfield bleachers, hard plastic replaced the Green Monster's tin façade. Throughout the 80s, additional seating was added along the rooftop and the baselines, and blue and red seats replaced many wooden ones.
Before John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino bought the Sox in 2002, rumors flew around that a new, more modern Fenway was going to be built. But the owners safeguarded the shrine, making many more improvements and adding upgrades, including the 250 much-coveted Monster Seats, more open-air seats, club seats and pavilion level seats. In 2008, 800 seats were added to the State Street Pavilion, and the 412-seat Coca-Cola Corner was built where the left field foul line meets the Monster.
The most recent renovations, completed last year, include the lower seating bowl's new and refurbished seats. But the original 1912 bowl is still there, now waterproofed. The 2011 season saw a new HD video/scoreboard above the centerfield bleachers.
Fenway now seats 36,945 fans during day games and 37,373 at night. The Sox are committed to never seating more than 40,000 at Fenway.
The atmosphere before the first ever Sox/Yanks game I attended last September was like New Year's Eve on First Night. Energy charged the air, and fans in their outrageous Sox garb swarmed Yawkey Way. Even though the Sox lost, watching Big Papi stomp on home plate, two women thrown out for fighting, and hearing Jeter booed was as much fun as 'the wave.' Fenway Park is a Boston landmark to be proud of.
